$10 Liberty Head Collection Earns $4 Million

The David Hall collection of $10 Liberty Head gold coins acquired for $4 million by Legend Numismatics includes this finest known 1858 example, graded PCGS MS64. (Photo credit: PCGS CoinFacts.)

Legend Numismatics (www.LegendCoin.com) of Lincroft, New Jersey, representing collector Bob R. Simpson of Fort Worth, Texas, has purchased the complete set of $10 Liberty Head gold pieces assembled by Professional Coin Grading Service (www.PCGS.com) Founder David Hall. The transaction is valued at $4 million, according to Laura Sperber, Legend President.

Hall’s set is listed on the PCGS Set RegistrySM as the "Ellen D" collection (after his wife’s first name). It is not only the finest set of its kind on the Registry, it is also finer than fabled sets assembled by noted 20th century collectors Harry W. Bass and Louis E. Eliasberg Sr.

1848, PCGS MS64, the only one graded PCGS MS64 with none graded higher.

1858, PCGS MS64, a famous discovery coin from the 1970s and the finest known by three or four points on the Sheldon grading scale.

1875, PCGS AU50. With only 100 coins minted, this is the lowest mintage regular-issue United States coin, and many experts believe less than 10 examples are known today.

1876, PCGS MS60, the only known mint state example of this low mintage rarity.

1883-O, PCGS AU58, possibly the finest known example of this rarity.

1899-S, PCGS MS68, the ex-Eliasberg-Clapp coin and the finest known by two full points.

1902, PCGS MS66, like many of the coins in the Hall Collection, it is the finest known and the only one graded at this level.

After carefully assembling the collection during the past seven years, Hall admitted he had mixed emotions about selling it.

"While I have a personal use for the money, I really had second thoughts about actually selling my set. I put a lot of work into building it, and it was a lot of fun for a long time," explained Hall.

"I’m glad Laura bought my set for Mr. Simpson, and I’m happy my ‘babies’ have found a great new home. It’s interesting that Mr. Simpson also has the finest collection of $10 Indian Head gold coins on the PCGS Set Registry, so his collection of 1838 to 1933 gold pieces now is really something special."

Less than ten 1875 $10 Liberty Head gold coins are known today. This one, graded PCGS AU50, is from the David Hall collection of Liberty Head Eagles that was acquired by Legend Numismatics. (Photo credit: PCGS CoinFacts.)

"I immediately called David when I heard he might be willing to sell his incredible collection" added Sperber. "This set has a unique appeal because many of the coins are not Mint State but they are extreme rarities nonetheless. It was not until we sat down to actually figure the deal coin-by-coin that we realized exactly how rare and undervalued most of the coins in the $10 Liberty series really are. We then understood why David chose this series to concentrate on."

Established in 2001, the PCGS Set Registry (www.pcgs.com/setregistry) now hosts over 57,000 sets. For additional information about PCGS and its services, visit www.PCGS.com, call PCGS Customer Service at (800) 447-8848, or email info@PCGS.com.